


Glowing Red Eyes

by Kiyana



Series: Crosses and Foxes [3]
Category: Faith (Airdorf Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Like it's there you don't have to squint but it's not extremely noticable, Mythological Inaccuracies, So this fic will NOT have the ship tag, This is technically the beginning of a relationship buuuuuut it's not there yet, Vague angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23355157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiyana/pseuds/Kiyana
Summary: “I’ll be fine, I think. What’s the worst that can happen?”Famous last words, John would later call them as he idly recalled that conversation, and the absolutely dangerous situation that followed. The poor two tailed fox was just a magnet for trouble, especially now, with his spirit orb as damaged as it was. It was times like this where he wondered just how impulsive of a fox he really was.He was probably lucky that Garcia was as protective of him as he was, and that the four tailed fox didn't ignore his gut feelings this time.
Relationships: John Thomas Ward & Father Garcia
Series: Crosses and Foxes [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665841
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Glowing Red Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this when I should have been writing the next chapter of the OSRASL rewrite. :]
> 
> Most of what you read in this about kitsunes is inaccurate.

Hunting, despite the circumstances, was one of Garcia’s favorite ways to pass time.

Don’t misunderstand, it’s not _literal_ hunting, at least, not most of the time. There are times where he needs to get food, and the abundance of berries and other edible flora around the church are never enough for a good diet. But _this_ form of hunting was more play than anything else, practice for the normal foxes that had begun calling the surrounding woods their home. Were he any other creature, he’d be suspicious about the sheer number of foxes popping up, but he was a kitsune, and yokai like him were the kind to attract the animals they once were into their territory.

He was quiet as he slowly pushed through the underbrush in his fox form, a few much younger foxes following after him and mimicking his motions as his gaze locked onto his prey. It was an adult Pygmy rabbit, particularly plump for this time of year, but not wide enough for Garcia to think there was something else going on there. He froze and hunkered closer to the ground, hearing the kits do the same as they slowly came up to his side to peer at the rabbit.

 _“This will be a good lesson for you all, so watch carefully.”_ he said to them quietly, trying to not give away his position but still trying to teach the kits. _“After this, I expect you all to try and have your own successful hunt, without help.”_ he took a step forward as the rabbit distracted itself with eating a few berries that had fallen to the ground. _“Stay put, and just watch.”_ slowly he crept forward, falling completely still if the rabbit even so much as twitched. Any little movement could turn into it bolting, especially if he’s spotted, and right now he didn’t think he could afford that.

For foxes, hunting was a lengthy procedure. They aren’t really stamina based hunters, instead relying on their own stealth and cunning to secure their food, so their hunts can take upwards of an hour, just from stalking their prey and inching closer only when they had an opening.

After a bit, he could tell the kits were getting restless, a glance at them told him that at least one was preparing to take this into their own paws, he frowned the best he could in his current form and, when he next had an opening, decided he’d speed things up. With two small steps, he hunkered down and, after aiming, lept upon the rabbit and pinned it down. The rabbit let out an alarmed, and particularly dramatic cry, before Garcia released it.

 _“Sorry, if that was a little rough.”_ he said to the rabbit, who picked itself back up and shook itself off.

 _“No worries.”_ it responded. _“I can stand a little bit of roughness for what you offered me. Remember our deal.”_

 _“How could I forget?”_ Garcia laughed, before turning towards the kits. _“So, what did you all learn from this?”_

 _“That you’re slow!”_ one of the kits exclaimed, causing the others to chortle.

 _“And as a fox, I have to be.”_ he responded lightly. _“We can’t just charge in and expect things to go well. Rabbits are fast, I haven’t even tried to show you what hunting a lizard or a bird is going to be like.”_ that got them to settle down quite a bit, staring at him with slightly wider eyes. _“Our natural prey is fast, and cunning in their own right. You’re all lucky I had made a deal with this one prior to our little lesson, otherwise, me rushing like I had because I saw some of you preparing to bolt wouldn’t have gone well at all. You have to be patient with a hunt, or else you’ll never have a successful one. Understand?”_

 _“Yes, sir.”_ they all echoed, and Garcia turned back to the rabbit.

_“As promised, I’ll help you store for the winter, but before I start with that, do tell me if your family gets any larger, alright? I don’t want to have to plan ahead for a certain number and learn at the last minute that there’s more rabbits than I thought there were.”_

_“I can do that.”_ the rabbit responded. _“See you in the fall, then?”_

 _“See you in the fall.”_ Garcia agreed, and with the dismissal, the rabbit quickly leapt away, vanishing into the underbrush. With a quiet sigh, he turned back towards the kits, an odd sense of foreboding settling into his gut. _“Come on, let’s get you younglings back to your clans.”_

~0~

_“I’ll be fine, I think. What’s the worst that can happen?”_

Everything was _not_ fine! John nearly swore as he stumbled over his own feet as he ran, the fur on his tails sticking straight up in response to his current situation. He turned a corner and chanced a glance down the hall behind him, letting out a very undignified sound at the sight of the demon pursuing him. Room after room passed by but he couldn’t hide, his damaged spirit orb leaking so much energy that it was practically a beacon in the dark to what was chasing him. He could only keep running.

 _‘Inari, I’m an idiot!’_ he thought ruefully, his left hand clenching the little jar that Garcia had put his orb in to keep any more of its shards from being lost. _‘I should have listened to Garcia, and stayed at the church!’_

 **“Come on, little fox!”** the demon behind him called. **“This was fun originally, but now I’m just annoyed!** **_Stop running!_** **”** John felt terror arc through him as he hopped over a gurney and instead sped up. He had to keep running, he had to find a way out of here!

Because he didn’t think Garcia would be able to save him this time.

~0~

_“I have to go into the nearby town today.”_ John’s voice echoed through Garcia’s head as he paused in front of the church doors, his grip on the handle tightening for a moment.

_“What?”_ Garcia had responded, alarmed by the sudden statement.  _“So soon after what happened? That doesn’t seem very smart, John. You really shouldn’t.”_

_“I have to, Garcia.”_ John’s grip on his coat tightened.  _“Something in my gut tells me I have to go into town.”_ Garcia frowned at the memory, his hand falling from the door handle as he turned his gaze towards the horizon.  _“I can’t stay cooped up in the church like this.”_

_“... As much as I don’t like it,”_ Garcia had finally responded, reaching up towards one of the makeshift shelves as he spoke.  _“I guess I can’t stop you. I can’t force you to stay, either.”_ he pulled a small jar down from the shelf, a length of rope bound to the top as he walked towards the container with John’s orb settled in the bottom and gently transferred it and its shards into their new container.  _“Just, by Inari, stay safe this time? And don’t get involved in anything stupid.”_

_“I’ll be fine, I think. What’s the worst that can happen?”_

That foreboding feeling in Garcia’s gut suddenly intensified, and this time he didn’t ignore it, instead taking off in the direction of the nearby town.

John was in danger. He could sense it. His teeth and claws began to sharpen as he shifted once again into his fox form, his tails waving behind him like flags in a hurricane.

Whatever was attacking John was going to _severely_ regret it.

~0~

He was getting very tired. Foxes aren’t designed to be constantly running away from something like this, regular humans more so. His legs were burning from overexertion and his lungs felt like they were going to collapse as he continued. He turned another corner and his eyes widened as they locked on a practical godsend. It was an exit sign, illuminated green and flickering. The bulb was likely old, or the demon on his tail was causing it to act thusly, but John couldn’t bring himself to care as he turned as the sign directed and continued running with renewed vigor. He followed the signs, hardly registering a minute foreboding in his gut as he went.

His heart dropped when he came to the end of the path, his eyes locking on the doors outside that were covered by wooden boards. His gaze darted around, he was cornered, the windows locked, he was too weak to pry them open by force or smash through them. He stumbled on his feet again, this time unable to recover as his right ankle jerked with a sharp, burning crack and he fell to the floor. He let out a cry as he landed, momentarily forgetting just where he was and what he’d been doing in the face of this sudden pain as he used his tails to push himself up so he could look at his ankle. It was already beginning to swell, and every little movement John made caused it to ache and throb. He let out a little whine, before suddenly snapping back to where he was and dragging his tails in front of him as he slowly tried to scamper backwards.

 **“Clever.”** the demon that had been chasing him intoned, before John felt something wrap around his newly twisted ankle. **“But do you really think I’m dumb enough to try and grab your tails?”** the demon pulled and John yelped, gritting his teeth as he attempted to pull his leg free, one of his tails swinging wildly at the demon but missing. **“You’re an amusing little fox, but when Alu never returned, with or without you, I’d grown very, very curious. And when you stepped foot into this building, free of their influence, I began to wonder just how you’d managed to shake them off. I wondered what you did to them.”** John whined as the demon’s grip tightened, tears pricking his eyes as he summoned what he could of his holy fire and taking another swipe at the demon with his tail. The demon merely chuckled at the effort. **“But now, I couldn’t care less. For them to be bested by a yokai like you, they must have been** **_weak_ ** **. How else could they have been bested by a damaged two tails like you?”** the demon tugged on his leg again, this time much harder, and John cried out as he was moved, his leg feeling like it was being set on fire. He gripped one of his tails tightly and buried his face in his fur in an attempt to stifle his cries. **“But none of that matters, because now you’re here with me. And there’s not a thing you can do about that, little fox.”**

As the demon moved to start dragging John back into the labyrinth of halls, a few things happened in rapid succession. A window shattered, someone new roared with anger, and bright blue filled John’s vision as he pulled his face from his tail. The demon’s hand suddenly fell from John’s ankle, allowing him to quickly scamper away from whatever was happening, his back pressed against a nearby wall as he tried to make it all out through the blue.

Then the scents hit him.

Candle wax, summer rain, herbs and spices, John widened his eyes as he recognized Garcia’s multi-layered scent. It was laced with such feral pheromones, though, and nothing like the calm and tranquil scent the younger kitsune had become so accustomed to. Growls and snarls rose from the bright blue light, fire, John realized mutedly, before the familiar form of Garcia flew from the confusion and landed on all fours near him, his fur standing on end and a deep, threatening rumble echoing from his throat as the fire suddenly died down.

 **“There are** **_two_ ** **kitsunes in Connecticut?!”** the demon snarled, looking a little worse for wear, John noted with slight vindictive glee. **“Why weren't any of us told?! WE WERE PROMISED THAT THERE WAS ONLY ONE!”** the demon fumed for only a moment. **“No matter, I’ll just take both of you out of the equation!”**

 **_“Don’t you dare touch my mate again!”_ ** Garcia snarled in response, Inari, even his voice was different, before John suddenly froze, completely processing just what he said.

Mate? They… they weren’t-

Garcia leapt towards the demon once again, the flames kicking back up with a vengeance as their battle began anew. John bundled himself up in a corner, watching the flames dance as his strength suddenly began to sap away. He was so tired, and had been running on adrenaline for hours now. And, despite where he was, despite what was happening, he felt safe. So, slowly, his eyes began to close, one of his tails settling close to his chest as he leaned into the wall.

He felt he could afford to rest for a moment. Just for a moment...

~0~

The fight had taken far too long, in Garcia’s opinion. It would have been easier to just overwhelm his enemy with his fire and be done with it. But when he’d seen them with their hand wrapped around John’s ankle, the smaller fox curled up and looking every part like a wounded and scared animal, he’d grown incredibly angry. He peered blankly at the charred, clawed-at lump that had once been that demon, feeling pleased, as though he’d achieved something more than what he had, before turning his gaze towards where John’s scent was.

He was out like a light, his right leg stretched out completely while the rest of his body was curled up and pressed into the corner, his ankle was swollen and dyed an inflamed red. He was holding one of his tails to his chest, his head resting on the fluffy limb as he remained blissfully unaware of his surroundings.

Garcia walked towards the younger fox, a soft look on his face as he crouched down and gently ran a hand across his cheek. He must have been exhausted to be sleeping in a situation like this. Garcia frowned momentarily as he caught sight of vague tear tracks on John’s face, a small lick of anger towards that demon flying through him, oh how he wished he could have punished that demon more, but now there was nothing he could do. After a moment, he gently looped an arm under John’s legs and, while being mindful of his right leg, he picked him up and held him close, staring at the jar that was hanging around his neck for a second before he began making his way towards the window he’d barreled his way through, using a tail to brush away any shards of glass that could prove bothersome as he peered at it. After a moment of thought, he pushed the window open as much as he could and, after a little bit of maneuvering, managed to get both of them out and into fresh air. Garcia quickly took off, back into the underbrush of the woods around the little town and back towards the church.

The run back didn’t take long at all, though when they passed onto the property, Garcia flinched at how it felt to him, letting out a long, and low growl, but ignoring it in favor of getting John inside. He would put up with this new, grimy feeling pressing against him, so long as the smaller kitsune was happy. As the church door shut behind him, he blatantly ignored the stairs and instead leapt to the floor above, quickly sliding into the back room and settling down into the pillow and blanket nest, refusing to let John go until he woke up. And, if he was honest, probably not even then. He let out a soft almost-purr as he gently ran a hand through John’s hair, watching as his ears twitched and adjusted to make room for his hand. And for the first time in nearly a year, Garcia felt complete, as though this is what he’d been desiring since he met John.

He just wished it hadn’t come to something like this happening to make him realize that.

~0~

John slowly came to, surrounded by warmth. There was a gentle, calming rumble in his ears, and a hand running through his hair. Mindlessly, he melted into the caress, a quiet but appeased sigh falling from his mouth. The gentle rumble raised an octave at his sigh and the warmth shifted around him, the hand in his hair pausing for only a moment before continuing with its motions.

 **_“Good morning, love.”_ ** Garcia’s voice cooed at him, quiet and gentle, but oddly silky in a way he didn’t recognize. John paused as he began working out what was going on, what happened before he went to sleep? He couldn’t remember. Love?

“... Garcia?” John asked, his voice a little horse as he began to crack open his eyes.

 **_“How are you feeling, my dear? Does your leg hurt?”_ ** John scrunched his nose. Why would his leg hurt…? And then it all came rushing back to him. The hospital, the demon, Garcia coming to save him, calling him… he opened his eyes more and quickly locked them with Garcia’s.

They were _not_ golden.

John flailed a little, genuinely startled by those bright red eyes that were staring at him so softly and tried to get away, only for his right ankle to light up with pain, making him yelp as he fell still, tears building in his eyes.

**_“John…?”_ **

“Y-You’re a Yako.” John squeaked quietly, his ears sinking against his head. “A-And it’s my fault-”

 **_“Don’t you dare.”_ ** Garcia’s voice was stern, cutting through John’s sudden cloud of emotions quite effectively. **_“John Thomas Ward, don’t you dare!”_ **

“B-But-”

 **_“I chose this!”_ ** Garcia’s tails curled around them. **_“I would do anything for you, dearest, anything for you.”_ **

“But your vows-”

 **_“I will worry about those later.”_ ** Garcia rubbed his cheek against John’s, once again releasing that almost-purr as he did so. **_“I’m sure Inari will forgive me in due time.”_ ** John found himself unable to respond in the face of this, instead vaguely melting into Garcia’s hold once more, soaking up the comfortable warmth like a sponge. He was sort of starting to like how tactile Garcia was behaving, even though he’d only experienced it for what must have been minutes but felt like hours. He wondered if it was a sudden shift in morals due to tapping into his instincts. Whatever it was, he half hoped it never ended. He’d never admit all of that aloud, though, Yako and Zenko don’t usually interact for a reason, after all.

But with Garcia holding him like this, speaking so softly and calling him those loving nicknames… he couldn’t bring himself to remember that reason.

“... did you mean it when you called me your mate?” John whispered after a while, causing Garcia’s rumbling to get a little louder as he snuggled him closer.

 **_“Of course.”_ ** he hummed, John’s heart stuttered. **_“I’d been waiting until you either began feeling better about yourself or had grown in your third tail, but after what had happened in town today, I couldn’t keep waiting. I still want you to feel better about yourself, but if I can push you towards that…”_ ** John couldn’t respond to that, merely stuttering, prompting Garcia to laugh. **_“But, that is far too forward. I still feel you are too unstable for a courtship now, to be honest, I am too. So, how about to do a demo run?”_ ** John tilted his head. **_“We won’t go past the third stage of courtship, but we can do little things from the first two. In fact, we’re already partaking in aspects of the second stage.”_ ** John blushed slightly. **_“So?”_ **

“... yeah, okay.” John responded after a moment, letting out a little laugh when Garcia smiled widely and snuggled him closer.

 ** _“Good. If anything happens that you don’t like, tell me. You’re in control of this demo run, John, and I’d never force you into anything you don’t want.”_** Garcia paused. **_“Well, except making you stay at the church until we can get your orb fixed. You’re not going back into any human settlements until you’re better.”_** John laughed at that, a genuine sound, very light, like the ringing of bells. He didn’t notice how Garcia fell still at the sound, and he definitely didn't notice the look of adoration being directed at him as he smiled.

“I think I can live with that.”

And he meant it.

**Author's Note:**

> I one hundred percent bullshitted the yako/zenko thing, because none of my sources told me if a kitsune could switch between the alignments like that, just that Zenko were agents of Inari (therefore holy) and Yako were malevolent spirits that can and will hurt or even kill humans if they so desire, and likely affected by holy ground in that regard. And I ALSO bullshitted the "vows to Inari" and blah blah I've warped kitsunes to my narrative again in the name of violence, angst, and hurt/comfort.
> 
> Big thank you to Gaysuke_Takahashi for reading over this. He almost became a co-writer for this, actually. He almost added a scene with heavy violence before Garcia leaves with John that would have upped the rating, probably, I think, but eventually backed out. I get why, though! He's focused on other things. It's enough for me that he looked this over.


End file.
